Licensing in Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.
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Check an address in Forest of Dean
We'll match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.
Licensing, ward by ward
Select a ward to see its name and licensing.
- National rules only21
Current ward boundaries from ONS. Some homes are exempt, so check your postcode and the scheme details below.
- Selective licensing
- None
- Additional HMO licensing
- No
- Article 4 on house shares
- None found
- Consultation
- None open
Licensing schemes
Mandatory HMO licence
In forceMandatory HMO licensing (national scheme, Forest of Dean fees)
- Area
The whole of Forest of Dean District (national scheme).
- Fee
Published standard fee: £1,332.51
Council HMO page: Part 1 application fee £240.88; Part 2 licence issue fee for a new licence £1,091.63, invoiced if the application succeeds, plus £41.00 per additional letting room for seven or more rooms (capped at £400.00). Renewal: Part 1 £240.88, Part 2 £989.13, plus £21.00 per additional room for seven or more rooms (capped at £200.00). The renewal Part 2 rises to £1,065.00 and the room fee to £40.00 per room (capped at £400.00) if there have been structural changes, there is outstanding enforcement action, or the renewal arrives less than 28 days before expiry. standard_gbp is Part 1 plus Part 2 for a new licence.
- Who needs one
- HMOs occupied by five or more people forming two or more households who share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. The council's page adds that purpose-built flats are included where there are up to two flats in the block and one or both are occupied by five or more people in two or more households, including flats above shops; each such flat needs its own licence.
- Exemptions
- Statutory exemptions under Schedule 14 to the Housing Act 2004.
How we checked this
The council's page says 'An HMO licence is valid for a period of five years unless otherwise specified by the authority.' Applications are made online through GOV.UK. A draft (proposal) licence is issued first and the final licence usually within 4 weeks if there are no representations. An HMO register (July 2026) is linked. Housing services are delivered by Publica, shared with Cotswold.
Article 4 for house shares
We found no Article 4 direction on house shares in Forest of Dean.
Civil penalty policy
The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.
Cabinet on 8 October 2026 (item 8, report PH.594) resolved to 'Approve the Policy for Civil Penalties', renewing the July 2025 policy for the Renters' Rights Act 2025, and (item 9) approved a new Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy. The approved Annex A (Housing Civil Penalties Policy 2026 v1.5) sets failure to obtain an HMO licence (s.72(1)) at a £17,000 starting point (downward £13,600, upward £20,400), statutory maximum £40,000. The policy still linked from the council website (civil-penalty-policy.pdf, £30,000 maximum, unlicensed HMO starting level £17,500) is the superseded 2025 version, and the council's HMO page still quotes £30,000.
Consultations
We found no consultations when we researched Forest of Dean.
Not yet confirmed
We could not settle these points when we researched Forest of Dean. Check them with the council before you rely on them.
- Not yet confirmed
No additional or selective licensing scheme, proposal or consultation was found on the council's HMO page (mandatory licensing only) or in web searches. The council does not state the absence and its committee papers were not searched item by item.
- Not yet confirmed
The approved October 2026 civil penalty policy was found only in the Cabinet papers; the council website still links the 2025 version.
Landlord register
The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Forest of Dean is in South West, where registration is planned from 15 August 2027 to 14 November 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register